Taking a walk through the neighbouring St. Marks Place. I figured this would be a good place to start the morning since I still hadn't explored the street in daylight yet. Lots of unique shops selling all sorts of funky stuff, and surprisingly a lot of Japanese restaurants and stores in the area too.
A look around Battery Park at things I missed earlier. I figured since it was still relatively early in the morning, I'd have a good shot at getting a ticket to the Statue of Liberty...I was wrong, all sold out!
Heading up north through Battery Park City...
...where I eventually ended up back at Ground Zero.
I randomly wandered into the World Financial Center complex, where I got a much better view of the ongoing work at Ground Zero (1st and 3rd photos) and a view across the Hudson River at Jersey City, NJ.
Cross formed from beams from the World Trade Center to remember the victims of 9/11.
I headed back east and found myself on Broadway, at the City Hall area.
Some views as I continued heading north. The last few photos really demonstrate how hard it is to get usable shots of building exteriors because of the heavy shadows (if I increased the ISO or tried longer exposure, the entire sky and nearby details would have whited out).
I ended walking all the way up to Canal St. and right next to Chinatown...
...so I figured I might as well take a quick look at Chinatown just along Canal St. I think it goes without saying it was a completely different environment during the day compared to when I came at night: people (mostly tourists) crowded the sidewalks looking for souvenirs, cheap goods, and other things a Chinatown would be known for, shop owners carefully watching people looking at their goods, the sidewalks littered with stands selling various items...
I headed back west, and then south of Canal St. into Tribeca. I was expecting to see some lavish residential buildings (since a lot of celebrities live in the area) but didn't see anything like that. Instead I actually walked by a small drug deal going on in one of the side streets - they all watched me as I walked by hahaha. The last 3 photos again show just how hard it was to get usable photos with all the tall buildings around in Manhattan - the shadows are so heavy in the last 2 photos that I couldn't adjust them without getting a photo like the 11th photo, where I was trying to grab a shot of the fire escape stairs.
Unimpressed with Tribeca, I found my way back to Broadway and headed back north, into Soho. Lots of high-end stores here, and even more shoppers on the streets. I popped into a few small sneaker boutiques here but didn't find anything interesting.
At E Houston St., about to cross into Noho.
I continued up north, through Noho. There weren't as many people here, but still some nice buildings to look at.
Before continuing north through Astor Place, I stopped off for lunch at Cozy Soup & Burger for some much deserved diner fare. They're supposedly well-known for their...soup and burgers hahaha! And its true, they had a long list of soups and burgers. I had some special burger (I think it was the "Astor Place" burger or something along those lines) and matzo ball soup! Believe it or not, it was my very first time trying matzo ball soup, and I found it quite satisfying! Plus, you can't go wrong with hot soup after walking around in the cold all morning. Then I continued up walking up through Astor Place...
...and finally arriving at Union Square - full of history and activity! Some very interesting sights here. I particularly liked the parked truck (last photo; graffiti can be a real art-form as the truck clearly demonstrates hahaha.
As I continued to explore Union Square Park, I noticed there was a farmer's market set up, so I decided to take a look.
And I got some hot, fresh, real apple cider. I can't even begin to describe how nice and soothing it was on such a cold day, especially after being constantly outside (the trail of steam is even evident in the photo!). You could tell it was real and fresh just by the explosion of apple flavour (with just the right touch of cinnamon and spices) and the clearly visible pieces of apple skin (that's why the drink looks cloudy)!
While sitting and enjoying some of the simpler things in life like enjoying hot apple cider on a sunny brisk winter day, I was entertained by a bird that was trying to feed on some discarded bread. It actually had to fight off a bunch of smaller birds to eat in peace, and then it had to break up the bread into a smaller chuck so that it could easily eat it (2nd photo).
Some views as I headed west and then south from Union Square and into Greenwich Village! The taxis in NYC have come a long way haven't they?...SUV taxis seemed so foreign (2nd photo).
I eventually stumbled upon a subway station, and decided to ride the subway up to Penn Station too get a closer look at it (since last time I was carrying my bag around and distracted with trying to find my way around).
Inside Madison Square Garden.
Revisiting the area around Penn Station that I had passed through when I first arrived in NYC since I didn't really take the time to absorb everything the first time.
A seemingly misplaced statue that I passed as I continued on northward (it's of a man sewing some cloth, but there were banks all around).
Fast food is sooo cheap in the US (no, I didn't go in hahaha).
As I continued north, it was only inevitable that I'd end up back in Times Square! I was completely surprised to see that huge ad for some coat company featuring the image of Barack Obama - I heard on the news a few days after that Obama's people asked the company to take down the ad for improperly using his image.
Continuing north through Times Square, I eventually headed east...
...and back to Rockfeller Plaza! I had no initial intention to head this way, but I figured since I was nearby I might as well take a look. Now almost a week after New Year's day, there were noticeably a lot less people here. And then I stopped off for a nice hearty salad at the Lenny's in the food court of Rockfeller Center.
Outside the NBC Experience Store.
Outside Cort Theatre. When I had stopped off for lunch in Astor Place, I had also dropped by the hostel, where I decided to order a ticket to see a Broadway show! I decided to see "A View From The Bridge" at Cort Theatre, so I was swinging by to pick up my ticket.
Halal chicken on rice, from the halal food cart, out in Times Square under the bright lights - I don't know if a dinner could get be a more New York experience than this! Sure it was cold, but the food was fresh and hot off the grill, and was actually really good - it was filling, pretty good quality (especially since I didn't had any troubles the next day hahaha), and only around $6 USD! Everyone passing by kept looking at me like I was crazy to be eating out in the cold, but they obviously didn't know how cool it was to be eating dinner outside in Times Square, watching life pass by as I sat and enjoyed my food and soaked everything in!
The crystal ball was still up on display?!
I realized I never took a photo of the "mix tape" I bought a few days earlier, so I thought now would be a good time - the marker signing had rubbed off by now.
The ticket to my first ever Broadway show! (On a side note, since the blanket is in the background, I never once saw the hostel change the blue blankets to wash them while I was there...ewww right? Hahaha.)
Inside Cort Theatre before the show started. The photos are really grainy because I took them with my phone (cameras weren't allowed inside) and it was really dim inside (the stage was all dark; 2nd photo).
Outside the theatre after show. Remember how I mentioned in my earlier posts about NY that a lot of my photos taken with my phone were damaged after I accidentally deleted them? Well the first 3 photos show just how extensive the damage was; I did manage to recover intact thumbnails for the ones that got damaged and I enlarged them a bit so that they could at least be viewable (last 3 photos).
When I got outside after the show, I noticed barricades had been set up and people were starting to wait along these barricades. Not knowing what was really going on, I decided to wait along with the others that chose to stay behind. Apparently, this happens after most Broadway shows, where patrons and collectors line up outside the exit after the show to get the actors' signatures, but I had no clue this was what usually happened, so I just stood there for 10 - 15 minutes just wondering what everyone was doing hahaha. And then the 2 leads finally came out, Liev Schreiber (1st - 3rd photos; that's my program that he signed in the 3rd photo!; again, blurry because it was my phone) and Scarlett Johansson (4th photo)! I had no idea Scarlett was that short; I never once saw her face because she was looking down the whole time to sign autographs and her hat covered her face from where I stood.
Liev (I remember him as Sabertooth in the recent "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" movie) was really friendly, chatting up with all the fans and signing everything put in front of him, but Scarlett seemed more reserved, not saying much and just signing a few here and there. Liev even signed my program! But it was like Scarlett was snubbing me hahaha. I was in the 2nd/3rd row, had my hand out with program in reach of the barricade, and she was working her way down my side. She got to the program next to me, but then skipped my program and went on to the program on the other side of me! Then when she got near the end of my side, she actually came back to where I was, signed another program that one guy was holding out next to me, and then left for her car, skipping me yet again!!! Hahahaha.
The show was great; very fluid and interesting story and great acting and character development - you know it's a good drama play when you feel like you're pulled right into the story! Without going into too much detail, it's set in 1950s Brooklyn, where Liev's character is the uncle of Scarlett's character, having raised her from a child, and conflict arises when the cousins of Liev's character's wife illegally immigrate from Italy and stay with them while they work to build a life for themselves in America (Google it for the full back drop).
What drew me to this particular play with some many shows available on Broadway? Well for one, it was a limited engagement, having just wrapped up on April 4th this year. And I'm not going to lie, it was also because I wanted to see Scarlett Johansson's Broadway debut! Plus, the play had quite a few celebrities in it - I've always found it interesting how well movie and TV stars can transition to the stage where there's no takes or camera effects to enhance a performance. Scarlett actually gave a pretty decent performance for her first time on Broadway, but she needs some more experience to get better. Jessica Hecht, who played Liev's wife, gave a very solid performance as well (I remember her as Susan on "Friends"). But it was Liev's performance that really stole the show - I had no idea he was such a good actor! Everyone outside was congratulating him on his performance, and it was well-deserved. I completely believed his character and his performance was one of the main things that drew me into the story; at the end, I really felt empathy for him. It's too bad it's finished now, because I would've highly recommended anyone to go see it! What better way to end a day in NYC than seeing a show on Broadway!
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